Tag: morningroutine

8 Things that I do in the morning….to start my day off right.

You do not have to be a morning person to benefit from waking up early. You also don’t have to commit to doing it every day. Waking up early is a great way to start your day off right. I’m talking about waking up while the rest of your family is sleeping soundly in their beds.

My home is rarely quiet, so I find it peaceful to have some early morning ‘me time’ while the rest of the house is asleep. (Okay-I shouldn’t say that everyone else is asleep. My husband wakes up early too…earlier than me. He leaves for the gym at 4am on most mornings…I think he might actually be the real hero in this story…).

Anyway- here are 8 things that I like to do first thing in the morning.

Drink Water- This is the very first thing that I do when I wake up. I keep a large reusable cup by my bedside. I refill it every night before bed. After a good night sleep, I always wake up feeling like a shriveled up raisin. Before I even have to think about starting my day, I pick up my cup and slurp down 10-16 oz of water. After I get a little bit of water back in my body, it is then straight to the coffee pot for me!

Stretch- You have been lying still for 7-8 hours. Waking up over the course of a couple of minutes by stretching in bed is a great way to get your body (and mind) ready for the day ahead.

Get myself dressed and ready for the day- So this one might seem obvious, but stick with me. On the days that I wake up early, I am able to put on my makeup without having to look over my shoulder every 30 seconds to make sure my toddler isn’t dipping my brushes in the toilet. Also, since my husband and I share a bathroom, I am able to get ready without my husband constantly in my way. It is so nice to be able to get ready faster, without distraction, and actually look a bit more put together!

Start a load of laundry- There is always laundry to be done. If I put laundry in the washer on my early mornings, it is ready to be moved over to the dryer before I leave for work. Then, when I get home from work, I just fluff the laundry for a few minutes in the dryer and it is ready to fold.

Tidy up- This doesn’t take long since I do most of the picking up and putting things away when I make my rounds through the house in the evenings. Morning tidying for me usually just includes putting away dishes that are on the drying rack or in the dishwasher.

Plan for the day- I am a person that loves having a plan. Waking up early allows me to plan for my day before things get busy. I will open my work and personal calendar to see if I have any meetings or appointments. Then, I take the time to physically write out an itemized to-do list. I will write down every little thing that I hope to accomplish during my day.

Get one thing done on my to do list- If the baby is still asleep, I will then use this time to cross one thing off of my to-do list….because half of the fun of a to-do list is getting to cross things off of it.

Personal/Self care- Now that I seem busier than ever with work and family, I find myself wondering, ‘when do other busy people have time to pluck their eyebrows or file their nails??’. I use my early morning time for things like this. Finally, if I don’t really have anything to do…(or more likely…just don’t have motivation to do anything)…I will sometimes sit in the quiet and enjoy my cup of coffee while doing absolutely NOTHING!

Some people like the saying ‘the early bird gets the worm’. I prefer the saying, ‘The tired Momma gets to drink her coffee in peace and quiet.’

striving for simple

Interested in seeing if waking up early can make a difference for you? Try waking up just one hour earlier on one day this week. I guarantee that once you roll out of bed and rub the sleepies out of your eyes, you will enjoy it!